OUR MOMENT TO SHINE
Mike Taliaferro

All verses are from 1 Samuel 13

Verse 1-7.

The Israelite soldiers quaked with fear. They fled from the battle. Saul, for his part, was supposed to wait for Samuel so that Samuel could make the burnt offering (1 Samuel 10:8) before the Israelites went to war. But Saul did not wait. Instead he made the offering himself.

Verse 15. The Israelite soldiers were now 600 in number. The others had run away. Verse 19, 22: The Israelites had only two spears between them. So the Israelites had 600 fighting men and two spears against a vast and well-equipped army.

Verses 11-14.

Saul blames Samuel. He is basically saying, here, "You're late. The men were scared. I had to do what I did." His attitude is that it is Samuel's fault, the soldiers' fault, the Philistines' fault. And Samuel verdict is, "You acted foolishly."

Think about it. Hadn't Gideon done greater things with fewer men? Wasn't David to go on to do great things all on his own? You've got to trust God no matter how bad it looks, otherwise you are acting foolishly.

This was Saul's moment to shine, his chance to faithfully lead God's people. But instead of trusting and obeying, he acted foolishly. God does not want us hiding, too afraid to do what is right.

We must be faithful as God's people. We must have faithful confidence. God wants us to be secure. God wants us to be strong. God wants us to have faith and courage in our individual situations. God doesn't ant us to be hiding out in our homes, afraid to talk to people about the Lord. God doesn't want us hiding in the bushes or in the wells, too afraid to do what we know is right. God wants us to be strong men and women of God.

Q. Have you been a force for Jesus, or a fool?
Q. Have you hidden when you should have shared your faith?
Q. Did you jump down the well when you should have confronted another brother or sister about something that you know that they need to hear from you?
Q. Have you boldly spoken with love to your family about Jesus, or have you crossed the River Jordan?

We've got to hear this message, because, church, this is our moment to shine in our city. This is the time to boldly speak to people about Jesus. When bad things happen, we can either use it for good or be cowardly and foolish. Some of the most baptisms they had in Abidjan when the Taliaferros were there was when there was civil unrest.

You might be feeling and thinking, "Can I really make it? Can I change? I'm not as fired up as I used to be." It's time to change. People are dying. We need to get the message out. Like Saul, this is your moment to shine. In your city, you are going to write the end to this story. You faith is going to carry you in to the neighbourhoods and onto the highways and byways of your nation, or else we'll be foolish, and when we stand before God on judgement day, we'll stand next to brothers and sisters who won their generations for Christ, and then , what will we say?

In 1870, Horatio G. Stafford lost his son in Chicago. A year later, he was later wiped out financially by the great Chicago fire. In 1873, he put his wife and four daughters on the ship back to Ireland. The ship was rammed by another in the middle of the ocean. 226 people drowned, including all of Horatio's daughters. His wife survived. Horatio took a ship to Ireland to meet up with his wife, and when he came to the point in the ocean where his daughters had died, he looked across the sea. Then he went back to his cabin, and that night penned the following song:

When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, "It is well, it is well, with my soul."

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blessed assurance control. That Christ has regarded my helpless estate And has shed his own blood for my soul.

My son - O the bliss of this glorious thought, My sin, not in part, but the whole, Is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more, Praise the lord, praise the lord, O, my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio was able to write this at this time because when you have faith, you can face whatever the devil throws at you. let us walk determined that we are going to leave our mark on this generation. Let us walk out of here determined that we are not going to be foolish like Saul, but that we will be faithful like Gideon, like David, like Paul, peter and Jesus. We are going to lay it all on the altar, then we'll go home to meet our maker.